Method and system for parent backup application driving of children backup applications

ABSTRACT

Parent backup application driving of children backup applications is described. An instruction for a child backup application to execute a child backup task is communicated from a parent backup application to the child backup application. An instruction for a second child backup application to execute a second child backup task may be communicated from the parent backup application to the second child backup application. An execution of the child backup task by the child backup application is communicated from the child backup application to a parent backup application. An execution of the second child backup task by the second child backup application may be communicated from the second child backup application to the parent backup application. A parent backup task is executed by the parent backup application. At least one child backup application inherently lacks a functionality to execute the parent backup task as the parent backup application executes the parent backup task.

BACKGROUND

If a software error corrupts a database, or if erroneous data updatesthe database, a database administrator may restore the database to aprevious uncorrupted state that does not include the corrupted orerroneous data. A backup application executes a backup operation eitheroccasionally or continuously to enable this restoration, storing a copyof each desired database state (the values of its data and these values'embedding in the database's data structures) within dedicated backupfiles. When the database administrator decides to return the database toa previous state, the database administrator specifies the desiredprevious state by identifying a desired point in time when the databasewas in this state, and instructs the backup application to execute arestore operation to restore the database with a copy of the backupfiles corresponding to that state. An additional copy that is made ofthe backup copy and stored separately from the backup files may bereferred to as a clone copy of the backup files.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the subject matter claimed will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon reading this description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals have been usedto designate like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example hardware device inwhich the subject matter may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example system for parentbackup application driving of children backup applications, under anembodiment; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart that illustrates a method of parent backupapplication driving of children backup applications, under anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Different backup applications may offer differing functionalities. Forexample, a virtual machine backup application may offer functionalitiesdesigned to create backup copies of virtual machine datasets, but lackthe functionality to clone copies of the backup copies and store thecloned copies on an external destination node. In another example, anenterprise backup application may offer functionalities designed tocreate clone copies of an enterprise's backup copies and store the clonecopies to an external destination node, but lack the functionalities tooptimally create backup copies of virtual machine datasets.

Embodiments herein enable parent backup application driving of childrenbackup applications. An instruction for a child backup application toexecute a child backup task is communicated from a parent backupapplication to the child backup application. For example, an enterprisebackup application instructs a virtual machine backup application tocreate a backup copy of a virtual machine dataset. An instruction for asecond child backup application to execute a second child backup taskmay be communicated from a parent backup application to the second childbackup application. For example, the enterprise backup applicationinstructs a relational database backup application to create a backupcopy of a relational database. An execution of a child backup task by achild backup application is communicated from a child backup applicationto a parent backup application. For example, a virtual machine backupapplication creates a backup copy of a virtual machine dataset, andcommunicates the creation of this first backup copy to an enterprisebackup application. An execution of a second child backup task by asecond child backup application may be communicated from the secondchild backup application to a parent backup application. For example, arelational database backup application creates a backup copy of arelational database, and communicates the creation of this second backupcopy to the enterprise backup application. A parent backup task isexecuted by a parent backup application, wherein at least one childbackup application inherently lacks a functionality to execute theparent backup task as the parent backup application executes the parentbackup task. For example, the enterprise backup application createsclone copies of the first backup copy and the second backup copy, andstores the clone copies to an external destination node, which neitherthe virtual machine backup application nor the relational databasebackup application can do. The parent backup application leverages itsown functionalities to do what the parent backup application is bestdesigned to do and leverages the children backup applications'functionalities to do what the children backup applications are bestdesigned to do.

Prior to describing the subject matter in detail, an exemplary hardwaredevice in which the subject matter may be implemented shall first bedescribed. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that theelements illustrated in, FIG. 1 may vary depending on the systemimplementation. With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system forimplementing the subject matter disclosed herein includes a hardwaredevice 100, including a processing unit 102, memory 104, storage 106,data entry module 108, display adapter 110, communication interface 112,and a bus 114 that couples elements 104-112 to the processing unit 102.

The bus 114 may comprise any type of bus architecture. Examples includea memory bus, a peripheral bus, a local bus, etc. The processing unit102 is an instruction execution machine, apparatus, or device and maycomprise a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a graphicsprocessing unit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA), etc. The processing unit 102 maybe configured to execute program instructions stored in memory 104and/or storage 106 and/or received via data entry module 108.

The memory 104 may include read only memory (ROM) 116 and random accessmemory (RAM) 118. Memory 104 may be configured to store programinstructions and data during operation of device 100. In variousembodiments, memory 104 may include any of a variety of memorytechnologies such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic RAM(DRAM), including variants such as dual data rate synchronous DRAM (DDRSDRAM), error correcting code synchronous DRAM (ECC SDRAM), or RAMBUSDRAM (RDRAM), for example. Memory 104 may also include nonvolatilememory technologies such as nonvolatile flash RAM (NVRAM) or ROM. Insome embodiments, it is contemplated that memory 104 may include acombination of technologies such as the foregoing, as well as othertechnologies not specifically mentioned. When the subject matter isimplemented in a computer system, a basic input/output system (BIOS)120, containing the basic routines that help to transfer informationbetween elements within the computer system, such as during start-up, isstored in ROM 116.

The storage 106 may include a flash memory data storage device forreading from and writing to flash memory, a hard disk drive for readingfrom and writing to a hard disk, a magnetic disk drive for reading fromor writing to a removable magnetic disk, and/or an optical disk drivefor reading from or writing to a removable optical disk such as a CDROM, DVD or other optical media. The drives and their associatedcomputer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thehardware device 100.

It is noted that the methods described herein can be embodied inexecutable instructions stored in a computer readable medium for use byor in connection with an instruction execution machine, apparatus, ordevice, such as a computer-based or processor-containing machine,apparatus, or device. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat for some embodiments, other types of computer readable media may beused which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such asmagnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoullicartridges, RAM, ROM, and the like may also be used in the exemplaryoperating environment. As used here, a “computer-readable medium” caninclude one or more of any suitable media for storing the executableinstructions of a computer program in one or more of an electronic,magnetic, optical, and electromagnetic format, such that the instructionexecution machine, system, apparatus, or device can read (or fetch) theinstructions from the computer readable medium and execute theinstructions for carrying out the described methods. A non-exhaustivelist of conventional exemplary computer readable medium includes: aportable computer diskette; a RAM; a ROM; an erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM or flash memory); optical storage devices, includinga portable compact disc (CD), a portable digital video disc (DVD), ahigh definition DVD (HD-DVD™), a BLU-RAY disc; and the like.

A number of program modules may be stored on the storage 106, ROM 116 orRAM 118, including an operating system 122, one or more applicationsprograms 124, program data 126, and other program modules 128. A usermay enter commands and information into the hardware device 100 throughdata entry module 108. Data entry module 108 may include mechanisms suchas a keyboard, a touch screen, a pointing device, etc. Other externalinput devices (not shown) are connected to the hardware device 100 viaexternal data entry interface 130. By way of example and not limitation,external input devices may include a microphone, joystick, game pad,satellite dish, scanner, or the like. In some embodiments, externalinput devices may include video or audio input devices such as a videocamera, a still camera, etc. Data entry module 108 may be configured toreceive input from one or more users of device 100 and to deliver suchinput to processing unit 102 and/or memory 104 via bus 114.

A display 132 is also connected to the bus 114 via display adapter 110.Display 132 may be configured to display output of device 100 to one ormore users. In some embodiments, a given device such as a touch screen,for example, may function as both data entry module 108 and display 132.External display devices may also be connected to the bus 114 viaexternal display interface 134. Other peripheral output devices, notshown, such as speakers and printers, may be connected to the hardwaredevice 100.

The hardware device 100 may operate in a networked environment usinglogical connections to one or more remote nodes (not shown) viacommunication interface 112. The remote node may be another computer, aserver, a router, a peer device or other common network node, andtypically includes many or all of the elements described above relativeto the hardware device 100. The communication interface 112 mayinterface with a wireless network and/or a wired network. Examples ofwireless networks include, for example, a BLUETOOTH network, a wirelesspersonal area network, a wireless 802.11 local area network (LAN),and/or wireless telephony network (e.g., a cellular, PCS, or GSMnetwork). Examples of wired networks include, for example, a LAN, afiber optic network, a wired personal area network, a telephony network,and/or a wide area network (WAN). Such networking environments arecommonplace in intranets, the Internet, offices, enterprise-widecomputer networks and the like. In some embodiments, communicationinterface 112 may include logic configured to support direct memoryaccess (DMA) transfers between memory 104 and other devices.

In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to thehardware device 100, or portions thereof, may be stored in a remotestorage device, such as, for example, on a server. It will beappreciated that other hardware and/or software to establish acommunications link between the hardware device 100 and other devicesmay be used.

It should be understood that the arrangement of hardware device 100illustrated in FIG. 1 is but one possible implementation and that otherarrangements are possible. It should also be understood that the varioussystem components (and means) defined by the claims, described below,and illustrated in the various block diagrams represent logicalcomponents that are configured to perform the functionality describedherein. For example, one or more of these system components (and means)can be realized, in whole or in part, by at least some of the componentsillustrated in the arrangement of hardware device 100. In addition,while at least one of these components are implemented at leastpartially as an electronic hardware component, and therefore constitutesa machine, the other components may be implemented in software,hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. More particularly,at least one component defined by the claims is implemented at leastpartially as an electronic hardware component, such as an instructionexecution machine (e.g., a processor-based or processor-containingmachine) and/or as specialized circuits or circuitry (e.g., discretelogic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function), such asthose illustrated in FIG. 1. Other components may be implemented insoftware, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. Moreover,some or all of these other components may be combined, some may beomitted altogether, and additional components can be added while stillachieving the functionality described herein. Thus, the subject matterdescribed herein can be embodied in many different variations, and allsuch variations are contemplated to be within the scope of what isclaimed.

In the description that follows, the subject matter will be describedwith reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations thatare performed by one or more devices, unless indicated otherwise. Assuch, it will be understood that such acts and operations, which are attimes referred to as being computer-executed, include the manipulationby the processing unit of data in a structured form. This manipulationtransforms the data or maintains it at locations in the memory system ofthe computer, which reconfigures or otherwise alters the operation ofthe device in a manner well understood by those skilled in the art. Thedata structures where data is maintained are physical locations of thememory that have particular properties defined by the format of thedata. However, while the subject matter is being described in theforegoing context, it is not meant to be limiting as those of skill inthe art will appreciate that various of the acts and operation describedhereinafter may also be implemented in hardware.

To facilitate an understanding of the subject matter described below,many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions. At leastone of these aspects defined by the claims is performed by an electronichardware component. For example, it will be recognized that the variousactions can be performed by specialized circuits or circuitry, byprogram instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by acombination of both. The description herein of any sequence of actionsis not intended to imply that the specific order described forperforming that sequence must be followed. All methods described hereincan be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated hereinor otherwise clearly contradicted by context. In an embodiment, thecomputer system 100 includes one or more methods for parent backupapplication driving of children backup applications.

In the prior art, different backup applications may offer differingfunctionalities. Embodiments herein enable parent backup applicationmanagement of children backup applications. The parent backupapplication leverages its own functionalities to do what the parentbackup application is best designed to do and leverages the childrenbackup applications' functionalities to do what the children backupapplications are best designed to do.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system that enables parentbackup application driving of children backup applications, under anembodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, system 200 may illustrate a cloudcomputing environment in which data, applications, services, and otherresources are stored and delivered through shared data-centers andappear as a single point of access for the users. The system 200 mayalso represent any other type of distributed computer networkenvironment in which servers control the storage and distribution ofresources and services for different client users.

In an embodiment, the system 200 represents a cloud computing systemthat includes a first client 202, a second client 204, and a thirdclient 206; and a first server 208, a second server 210, and a thirdserver 212, that are provided by a hosting company. The first server 208is associated with a first database 214, and the second server 210 isassociated with a second database 216. The clients 202-206, the servers208-212, and the databases 214-216 communicate via a network 218.Although FIG. 2 depicts the system 200 with three clients 202-206, threeservers 208-212, two databases 214-216, and one network 218, the system200 may include any number of clients 202-206, servers 208-212,databases 214-216, and networks 218. The clients 202-206 and the servers208-212 may each be substantially similar to the system 100 depicted inFIG. 1.

The first client 202 enables a user to access a database application asa system user. The second client 204 includes database administratorcredentials 220 that enable a user to access a database application as adatabase administrator. The third client 206 includes backupadministrator level privileges 222 that enable a user to access a backupapplication as a backup administrator. The first server 208 includes afirst database application 224 that executes to access the firstdatabase 214, and also includes a first child backup application 226that creates, stores, and possibly recovers a first backup copy 228 of adataset accessed in the first database 214. Similarly, the second server210 includes a second database application 230 that executes to accessthe second database 216, and also includes a second child backupapplication 232 that creates, stores, and possibly recovers a secondbackup copy 234 of a dataset accessed in the second database 216. Eachof the backup copies 228 and 234 may be an image copy of data files aproprietary format file that includes parts or all of multiple datafiles, a full backup copy, and/or an incremental backup copy. The thirdserver 212 includes a parent backup application 236 that creates,stores, and possibly recovers a clone copy 238 of the first backup copy228 and/or the second backup copy 234. The first database 214 may bereferred to as the virtual machine database 214, the second database 216may be referred to as the relational database 216, the first childbackup application 226 may be referred to as the virtual machine backupapplication 226, the second child backup application 230 may be referredto as the relational database backup application 230, and the parentbackup application 236 may be referred to as the enterprise backupapplication 236.

FIG. 2 depicts the system elements 224-228 residing completely on thefirst server 208, the system elements 230-234 residing completely on thesecond server 210, and the system elements 236-238 residing completelyon the third server 212. However, the system elements 224-238 may residein any combination of partially on the first server 208, the secondserver 210, the third server 212, and partially on other servers thatare not depicted in FIG. 2. Although FIG. 2 depicts one parent backupapplication 236 and two children backup applications 224 and 230 thatcorrespond to the servers 208-212, the databases 214-216, and the systemelements 224-238, the system 200 may include any number of parent backupapplications 236 and any number of children backup applications 224 and230 and their corresponding number of servers 208-212, databases214-216, and system elements 224-238.

A parent backup application communicates an instruction to a childbackup application for the child backup application to execute a childbackup task. For example, the enterprise backup application 236, whichmay be a NetWorker® backup application, instructs the virtual machinebackup application 226 to create the backup copy 228 of the virtualmachine database 214. A parent backup application may also communicatean instruction to a second child backup application for the second childbackup application to execute a second child backup task. For example,the enterprise backup application 236 instructs the relational databasebackup application 232 to create the second backup copy 234 of therelational database 216.

EMC Corporation's NetWorker® backup application is a suite of enterpriselevel data protection software that unifies and automates backup totape, disk-based, and flash-based storage media across physical andvirtual environments for granular and disaster recovery. Cross-platformsupport is provided for many environments, including Microsoft Windows®.A central NetWorker® server manages a data zone that contains backupclients and NetWorker® storage nodes that access the backup media. TheNetWorker® management console software provides a graphic user interfacefor functions such as client configuration, policy settings, schedules,monitoring, reports, and daily operations for deduplicated andnon-deduplicated backups. The core NetWorker® software backs up clientfile systems and operating system environment. Add-on database andapplication modules provide backup services for products such asMicrosoft® Exchange Server. Client backup data can be sent to a remoteNetWorker® storage node or stored on a locally attached device by theuse of a dedicated storage node. EMC Corporation's NetWorker® modulesfor Microsoft® applications supports Microsoft® products such asMicrosoft® Exchange, Microsoft® Sharepoint, Microsoft® SQL Server, andMicrosoft® Hyper-V servers.

A child backup application communicates an execution of a child backuptask by the child backup application to a parent backup application. Forexample, the virtual machine backup application 226 creates the backupcopy 228 of a virtual machine database 214, and communicates thecreation of this first backup copy 228 to the enterprise backupapplication 236. The backup copy 228 may reside on a disk that isinternal to the system for the first database application 224, such as adisk associated with the first server 208.

A backup administrator may use the third client 206 to access the userinterface for the parent backup application 236 to initiate and/orschedule backups using the children backup applications 226 and 232without needing to access the user interfaces for the children backupapplications 226 and 232, as the children backup applications 226 and232 are driven by the parent backup application 236. In this manner, theparent backup application 236 may initiate a large number of childrenbackup applications 226 and 232 that do not provide enterprise-widebackups individually to provide enterprise-wide backups collectively.

Communicating from a child backup application to a parent backupapplication may be in response to a request from the parent backupapplication to the child backup application. For example, the virtualmachine backup application 226 may communicate the creation of the firstbackup copy 228 to the enterprise backup application 236 whenever thevirtual machine backup application 226 creates the first backup copy228, or the enterprise backup application 236 may periodically poll thevirtual machine backup application 226 to determine whenever the virtualmachine backup application 226 creates the first backup copy 228.

A second child backup application may also communicate an execution of asecond child backup task by the second child backup application to aparent backup application. For example, the relational database backupapplication 232 creates the backup copy 234 of the relational database216, and communicates the creation of this second backup copy 234 to theenterprise backup application 236, wherein the second backup copy 234may reside on a disk that is internal to the system for the seconddatabase application 230, such as a disk associated with the secondserver 210.

A parent backup application executes a parent backup task, wherein atleast one child backup application inherently lacks a functionality toexecute the parent backup task as the parent backup application executesthe parent backup task. For example, the enterprise backup application236 creates clone copies 238 of the first backup copy 228 and the secondbackup copy 234, and stores the clone copies 238 to an externaldestination node, which neither the virtual machine backup application224 nor the relational database backup application 230 can do. Inanother example, a child backup application may be able to execute theparent backup task, but not as efficiently as the parent backupapplication 236 executes the parent backup task. In yet another example,the parent backup application 236 may not be able to create the backupcopies 228 and 234, at least not as efficiently as the child backupapplications 226 and 232 can create the backup copies 228 and 234.

When the parent backup application 236 stores the clone copy 238 on anexternal destination node, the parent backup application 236 can protectthe clone copy 238 of the backup copies 228 and 234 even if thedatabases 214 and 216, and the backup copies 228 and 234 stored on adisk associated with the servers 208 and 210 are corrupted. The externaldestination node, such as the third server 212, may include multipledestination nodes, and the multiple destination nodes may include a diskdestination node, a tape destination node, and/or a destination nodethat is a combination of disks and tapes. For example, the parent backupapplication 236 may store the clone copy 238 on a disk, on a tape, orpartly on a disk and partly on a tape associated with the third server212. A backup administrator may access the parent backup application 236via the third client 206 to specify a priority for storing the clonecopy 238 on the external destination nodes, such as storing only ondisks, or storing on disks before storing on a combination of disks andtapes. Additionally, a backup administrator may use the parent backupapplication 236 to specify the options for the clone copy 238 to beencrypted, deduplicated, and/or compressed while being transmitted froma source, and the options for the clone copy 238 to be decrypted and/ordecompressed when stored on an external destination node. Datadeduplication significantly reduces cloning time by only storing uniquedaily changes, while always maintaining daily clone copies of fullbackup files for an immediate single-step restore. The transmission ofdeduplicated clone copies sends only changed blocks, thereby reducingnetwork traffic.

The child backup applications 226 and 232 may typically select torestore the databases 214 and 216 from the backup copies 228 and 234stored on the disks associated with the servers 208 and 210,respectively. However, if a child backup application determines that itsbackup file stored on the disk associated with its server is corruptedor absent, the child backup application may request to recover the clonecopy 238 from the disk associated with the third server 212, and mayrestore the clone copy 238 to its corrupted database. Even if a childbackup application requests to recover the clone copy 238 from the diskassociated with the third server 212, a database administratorrequesting the recovery via the second client 204 participates in asingle step recovery process, as the database administrator does nothave to request assistance from the backup administrator, or request theseparate loading of any storage medium used for long-term dataretention, such as a tape storage.

A parent backup application may instruct a child backup application todelete a backup copy created by the child backup application of a dataset in response to a deletion of a clone copy of the backup copy createdby the parent backup application. For example, the enterprise backupapplication 236 instructs the virtual machine backup application 226 todelete the first backup copy 228 created by the virtual machine backupapplication 226 because the enterprise backup application 236 deletedthe clone copy 238 of the first backup copy 228 from an externaldestination node due to an retention duration being exceeded for theclone copy 238 and the first backup copy 228. In another example, theenterprise backup application 236 instructs the virtual machine backupapplication 226 to delete the first backup copy 228 created by thevirtual machine backup application 226 due to a backup administratormanually deleting the clone copy 238 in response to determining that theoriginal first backup copy 228 was created incorrectly. The parentbackup application 236 leverages its own functionalities to do what theparent backup application 236 is best designed to do and leverages thechildren backup applications' functionalities to do what the childrenbackup applications 226 and 232 are best designed to do.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart that illustrates a method of parent backupapplication driving of children backup applications. Flowchart 300illustrates method acts illustrated as flowchart blocks for certainsteps involved in and/or between the clients 202-206 and/or the servers208-212 of FIG. 2.

An instruction for a child backup application to execute a child backuptask is communicated from a parent backup application to the childbackup application, act 302. For example, the enterprise backupapplication 236 instructs the virtual machine backup application 226 tocreate the first backup copy 228 of the virtual machine database 214.

An instruction for a second child backup application to execute a secondchild backup task may be communicated from a parent backup applicationto the second child backup application, act 304. For example, theenterprise backup application 236 instructs the relational databasebackup application 230 to create the second backup copy 232 of therelational database 216.

An execution of a child backup task by a child backup application iscommunicated from the child backup application to a parent backupapplication, act 306. For example, the virtual machine backupapplication 226 creates the first backup copy 228 of a virtual machinedatabase 214, and communicates the creation of this first backup copy228 to the enterprise backup application 236.

An execution of a second child backup task by a second child backupapplication is optionally communicated from the second child backupapplication to a parent backup application, act 308. For example, therelational database backup application 232 creates the second backupcopy 234 of the relational database 216, and communicates the creationof this second backup copy 234 to the enterprise backup application 236.

A parent backup task is executed by the parent backup application,wherein at least one child backup application inherently lacks afunctionality to execute the parent backup task as the parent backupapplication executes the parent backup task, act 310. For example, theenterprise backup application 236 creates clone copies 238 of the firstbackup copy 228 and the second backup copy 234, and stores the clonecopies 238 to an external destination node, which neither the virtualmachine backup application 224 nor the relational database backupapplication 230 can do.

A child backup application is optionally instructed to delete a backupcopy of a data set in response to a deletion of a clone copy of thebackup copy, act 312. For example, the enterprise backup application 236instructs the virtual machine backup application 226 to delete the firstbackup copy 228 created by the virtual machine backup application 226because the enterprise backup application 236 deleted the clone copy 238of the first backup copy 228 from an external destination node due to anretention duration being exceeded for the clone copy 238 and the firstbackup copy 228.

Although FIG. 3 depicts the acts 302-312 occurring in a specific order,the acts 302-312 may occur in another order. Executing the flowchart 300enables parent backup application driving of children backupapplications. The parent backup application 236 leverages its ownfunctionalities to do what the parent backup application 236 is bestdesigned to do and leverages the children backup applications'functionalities to do what the children backup applications 226 and 232are best designed to do.

The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in thecontext of describing the subject matter (particularly in the context ofthe following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular andthe plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted bycontext. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended toserve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separatevalue falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, andeach separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it wereindividually recited herein. Furthermore, the foregoing description isfor the purpose of illustration only, and not for the purpose oflimitation, as the scope of protection sought is defined by the claimsas set forth hereinafter together with any equivalents thereof entitledto. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “suchas”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illustrate thesubject matter and does not pose a limitation on the scope of thesubject matter unless otherwise claimed. The use of the term “based on”and other like phrases indicating a condition for bringing about aresult, both in the claims and in the written description, is notintended to foreclose any other conditions that bring about that result.No language in the specification should be construed as indicating anynon-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention asclaimed.

Preferred embodiments are described herein, including the best modeknown to the inventor for carrying out the claimed subject matter. Ofcourse, variations of those preferred embodiments will become apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoingdescription. The inventor expects skilled artisans to employ suchvariations as appropriate, and the inventor intends for the claimedsubject matter to be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein. Accordingly, this claimed subject matter includes allmodifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in theclaims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, anycombination of the above-described elements in all possible variationsthereof is encompassed unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwiseclearly contradicted by context.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for parent backup application driving ofchildren backup applications, the system comprising: a processor-basedapplication executed on a computer and configured to: communicate, froma parent backup application to a first child backup application and asecond child backup application, an instruction for the first childbackup application to execute a child backup task and an instruction forthe second child backup application to execute a second child backuptask; communicate, from the first child backup application to the parentbackup application, an execution of the first child backup task by thefirst child backup application; communicate, from the second childbackup application to the parent backup application, an execution of thesecond child backup task by the second child backup application; andexecute a parent backup task by the parent backup application, whereinthe first and second child backup applications inherently lack afunctionality to execute the parent backup task as the parent backupapplication executes the parent backup task.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein communicating, from the first and second child backupapplications to the parent backup application, is in response torequests from the parent backup application to the first and secondchild backup applications.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstand second child backup tasks comprise at least one of creating a backupcopy of a data set, and wherein the parent backup task comprisescreating a clone copy of the backup copy and storing the clone copy onan external destination node.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein theprocessor-based application is further configured to instruct the firstand second child backup applications to delete the backup copy of thedata set in response to a deletion of the clone copy of the backup copy.5. The system of claim 1, wherein the parent backup applicationinherently lacks a functionality to execute the first and second childbackup tasks as the first and second child backup applications executethe first and second child backup tasks.
 6. A computer-implementedmethod for parent backup application driving of children backupapplications, the method comprising: communicating, from a parent backupapplication to a first child backup application and a second childbackup application, an instruction for the first child backupapplication to execute a child backup task and an instruction for thesecond child backup application to execute a second child backup task;communicating, from the first child backup application to the parentbackup application, an execution of the first child backup task by thefirst child backup application; communicating, from the second childbackup application to the parent backup application, an execution of thesecond child backup task by the second child backup application; andexecuting a parent backup task by the parent backup application, whereinthe first and second child backup applications inherently lack afunctionality to execute the parent backup task as the parent backupapplication executes the parent backup task.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein communicating, from the first and second child backupapplications to the parent backup application, is in response torequests from the parent backup application to the first and secondchild backup applications.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the firstand second child backup tasks comprise at least one of creating a backupcopy of a data set, and wherein the parent backup task comprisescreating a clone copy of the backup copy and storing the clone copy onan external destination node.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein themethod further comprises instructing the first and second child backupapplications to delete the backup copy of the data set in response to adeletion of the clone copy of the backup copy.
 10. The method of claim6, wherein the parent backup application inherently lacks afunctionality to execute the first and second child backup tasks as thefirst and second child backup applications execute the first and secondchild backup tasks.
 11. A computer program product comprisingcomputer-readable program code to be executed by one or more processorswhen retrieved from a non-transitory computer-readable medium, theprogram code including instructions to: communicate, from a parentbackup application to a first child backup application and a secondchild backup application, an instruction for the first child backupapplication to execute a child backup task and an instruction for thesecond child backup application to execute a second child backup task;communicate, from the first child backup application to the parentbackup application, an execution of the first child backup task by thefirst child backup application; communicate, from the second childbackup application to the parent backup application, an execution of thesecond child backup task by the second child backup application; andexecute a parent backup task by the parent backup application, whereinthe first and second child backup applications inherently lack afunctionality to execute the parent backup task as the parent backupapplication executes the parent backup task.
 12. The computer programproduct of claim 11, wherein communicating, from the first and secondchild backup applications to the parent backup application, is inresponse to requests from the parent backup application to the first andsecond child backup applications.
 13. The computer program product ofclaim 11, wherein the first and second child backup tasks comprise atleast one of creating a backup copy of a data set, and wherein theparent backup task comprises creating a clone copy of the backup copyand storing the clone copy on an external destination node.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 13, wherein the processor-basedapplication is further configured to instruct the first and second childbackup applications to delete the backup copy of the data set inresponse to a deletion of the clone copy of the backup copy.